Lessons learned from hurricanes

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I got this in an email today. It is attributed to the Orlando Sentinel. It was titled 30 things we learned from Charley. I think that should be Charley and Frances

 

Water is comfort food. But 3- day-old Cheetos are too.

 

We shouldn't complain about all the "useless" tools in the garage -- we actually DO need a generator.

 

You can't spell "priceless" without I-C-E.

 

Shadow animals on the wall -- still fun!

 

It's your God-given right to sit on your back porch and eat Chinese takeout by candlelight in your underwear.

 

You can use your washing machine as a cooler.

 

No matter how hard the wind blows, roadside campaign signs will survive.

 

Cell phones: Breaking up isn't hard to do.

 

Water from the shower is much colder than water from the kitchen sink -- and tastes just as bad.

 

AA and D are the only alphabet we need.

 

There's a plus side to having nothing in the refrigerator.

 

You should never admit to having power at your house in the presence of co-workers or neighbors who don't.

 

Even after all these years, it can be nice to spend time with Col. Mustard in the ballroom with the lead pipe.

 

Chain saw-wielding men are nothing to be afraid of.

 

When house-hunting, look for closets with lots of legroom.

 

SUVs are the best makeshift tents on the market.

 

An oak tree on the ground looks four times as big as one standing up.

 

The four-way stop is still an ingenious reflection of civility.

 

Getting through the day should be an Olympic event.

 

The movie theater can be a most pleasant place, even if the feature is Alien vs. Predator.

 

Radio can be the best way to watch television.

 

Air conditioning: Best invention ever.

 

Candlelight is better than Botox -- it takes years off your appearance.

 

Lake Eola can generate waves.

 

Gasoline is a value at any price.

 

The need for your dog to go out and take care of business is proportional to the severity of the storm.

 

The lifeblood of any disaster recovery is coffee.

 

Downed power lines make an excellent security system.

 

Somebody's got it worse

 

Somebodoy's got it better. Obviously, they're getting preferential treatment.

 

I did not put this in humor because 6 days without electricity isn't funny. I spent less than one day without power and I was miserable. I have a relative with several small children - I can't imagine what it must have been like - because they have a well no power also meant no running water. (Actually they brought the kids to my house for baths and I think the sinus mess I have I caught from one of the kids - I only add that because I feel guilty for not suffering more) Several co-workers spent a week without power as well. And I did make the mistake of telling them I had power.

 

But I did get to play pictionary and trivial pursuit by candlelight

[Yillara Skye 1]

I can agree with a lot of those.

 

Leave out the "in your underwear" part...and that one is definately true. An hour wait to order a meal is no problem at all, especially if it meant that after that wait you could have a nice warm meal in your stomach. (My dad went out to see if there was a gas station still open to get extra gas for the generator and he discovered that there was one resteraunt still open...and it was one of the Chinese resteraunts. It worked out since , all of us were able to get our favorites from the menu. My favorite Chinese resteraunt in town had already closed down due to loss of power and running out of supplies a little earlier that evening, this one we went to was my brother in law & sister's favorite in town)

 

 

Did not play too much in the way of games, though we did have the likes of Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, UpWords, UNO, and decks of cards. However, at least most of the family read during the time. I ended up doing my Chem homework by candlelight too.

 

 

Thanks for posting this UH! I am sending this to my mom, sister & brother.

Edited September 14, 2004 by Yillara_Soong

[VaBeachGuy 12]

I can relate to going 6 days without power from Isabel in Sept 2003. Not fun at all. But reading the list now over a year removed I can laugh.

 

I've always said that I love hurricanes as long as no one's hurt and damage is low. Of course when I say that I'm always told I'm insane... lol

[mj 7]

We had an ice storm a couple of years ago that caused that kind of power outage throughout the state. People fled their homes to hotels, which quickly filled. Friends with power opened their homes to friend without ( because it was freezing outside.) It took more than a week to get everything back up, and that only with the assistance from power crews from outside the state.

 

I was pretty lucky....my power was out for less than a day.

[Yillara Skye 1]

I've always said that I love hurricanes as long as no one's hurt and damage is low. Of course when I say that I'm always told I'm insane... lol

280630[/snapback]

 

EXACTLY!!!

People tell me I am nuts for saying that. Even after the storms this year.

 

True they also think I have totally lost it when I used to say(growing up) that I wanted to travel to the Caribbean during a minor hurricane, that or want so much to get to ride in the plane during a reconisance flight to the center of the storm. After this season...I think I got close enough to the hurricanes, so traveling to be in one is not really needed anymore.

 

 

When it came to power outages, we only lost power during Frances and that was about for a day. Jeanne we had fluctuations during the storm, and had a brief black out about two days afterward. Charlie...we just lost satellite, which made me mad since I was trying to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. But that was only out for maybe 15 minutes to a half hour.

We actually had a longer power outage during the time when Floyd sideswiped the state back in 1999. I think we were without power here at home for about 3 or 4 days.

[Rivendells_king 0]

Thank god I live in the land of bovine domesticus's but we have tornados

[Jeanway 0]

I hate them. I learned to move as far away from even the possibility of ever being in one again.